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Sunday, December 20, 2009

I saw this amazing recipe in a Food and Wine magazine article: Nutella Swirled Pound Cake. A quick peruse of the ingredients and instructions, I was instantly hooked. I had everything in my kitchen already and it seemed easy enough to make. And the results were delicious!
First you beat the butter and sugar until creamy.
Next, you add the eggs and vanilla extract. Lastly, mix the dry ingredients (flour, etc).
You should then have a nice creamy cake batter. If you taste it here, it's nice and rich. Butter is the perfect word.
Take 1/3 of the batter and place it into your loaf pan. Spread out evenly.
Next add your Nutella. Glorious hazelnut and chocolate sauce.
Add half the jar on top. Spread evenly.
Repeat until you end with the last third of the cake batter on top. Next take a butter knife and swirl the batter and nutella around. Do not swirl too much or you'll end up just mixing the two together. Bake at 325 degrees until done.
Let cool in pan then transfer to wire rack.
I had a little mishap removing the cake from the pan.
When I tasted the cake once it cooled, it was heavenly. The rich buttery-ness of the cake mixed with the chocolaty Nutella. So good. But there are a couple things I would change. First, the cake was over baked. A crunchy crust had formed over the outside. Normally this sounds good but this is pound cake. It should be soft all over.
And second, I would try to find a way to keep the Nutella from sagging to the bottom. Maybe I'll add some flour in between layers.
This was a great recipe and tasted fantastic (even when crunchy). I would definitely make this again.
Recipe from Food & Wine Magazine
Nutella-Swirl Pound Cake
Recipe by Lauren Chattman
(Recipe adapted from Cake Keeper Cakes.)
* ACTIVE: 20 MIN
* TOTAL TIME: 2 HRS 2 hr plus 2 hr cooling
* SERVINGS: Makes one 9-by-5-inch loaf
Ingredients
1. 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
2. 4 large eggs, at room temperature
3. 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
4. 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
5. 1/4 teaspoon salt
6. 2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
7. 1 1/4 cups sugar
8. One 13-ounce jar Nutella
Directions
1. Preheat the oven to 325°. Lightly grease and flour a 9-by-5-inch loaf pan, tapping out any excess flour. In a glass measuring cup, lightly beat the eggs with the vanilla. In a medium bowl, whisk the 1 1/2 cups of flour with the baking powder and salt.
2. In a large bowl, using a handheld mixer, beat the butter with the sugar at medium-high speed until fluffy, about 3 minutes. With the mixer at medium-low speed, gradually beat in the egg mixture until fully incorporated. Add the flour mixture in 3 batches, beating at low speed between additions until just incorporated. Continue to beat for 30 seconds longer.
3. Spread one-third of the batter in the prepared pan, then spread half of the Nutella on top. Repeat with another third of the batter and the remaining Nutella. Top with the remaining batter. Lightly swirl the Nutella into the batter with a butter knife. Do not overmix.
4. Bake the cake for about 1 hour and 15 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let the cake cool in the pan for 15 minutes. Invert the cake onto a wire rack, turn it right side up and let cool completely, about 2 hours. Cut the cake into slices and serve.
The pound cake can be kept in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.